Smarter Sleeping 101

Sleep Tips Of The Week

These sleep tips are brought to you by Ellen Michaud from AllIndians.com. It’s pretty long, but definitely worth the read if stress is your primary cause of insomnia. Check out the excerpt below:

“Target the Enemy!
When stress interrupts your sleep on a nightly basis, it sets you up for a chronic insomnia that can send you sliding down the rabbit’s hole toward sleeping pills, alcohol, and chocolate cake at night and a zillion cups of coffee during the day. Here’s how to step back from that precipice.

Target the enemy. “Every night a couple of hours before bed, sit down and make a list of all the issues, problems, and things you have to deal with,” says Donna Arand, Ph.D., clinical director of Kettering Hospital Sleep Disorders Center in Dayton, Ohio. “Next to each item, write a solution or plan.” If you’re mad at your mother-in-law, for example, the solution could be to call her and talk it out.

Even if it’s not something you want to do, write down your ideas for dealing with each stressor you’ve listed, urges Dr. Arand. Then mull the solutions over.

When you’re ready for bed, put the list by the bedroom door. That way, if thoughts of your problems arise as you’re trying to sleep, you can tell yourself, “I’ve got a plan and I’ll work on it tomorrow,” says Dr. Arand. The reassuring presence of your plan by the door will give it a concrete reality that will allow you to shift your mind to more peaceful things.

Put your work in perspective. A Canadian health agency that tracks health-related statistics reported recently that on-the-job stress has reached alarming levels. They point to the fact that the workplace no longer has any boundaries and that work has spread into every corner of your life. It’s gotten to the point that 52 percent of employees take work home — almost double the number who did in 1990. What’s more, 69 percent of employees check their work e-mail from home, 59 percent check voice mail after hours, 30 percent accept work-related faxes at home, and 29 percent keep their cell phones on at all times.

Not surprisingly, 46 percent feel this work-related intrusion is a stressor, and 44 percent report “negative spillover” onto their families. A poll conducted by the American Psychological Association found that 52 percent of American workers said that work interfered with their responsibilities to their families. The problem, however, is not just that work is intruding into familial life, it’s that it’s actually interfering with the most effective buffers to workplace stress available.

A joint study of 314 workers conducted by the University of South Australia and the University of Rotterdam found that workers with higher levels of active leisurely activities, such as exercise, hobbies, and social activity, were able not only to bounce back from workplace stress better than their always-on-the-job coworkers but also sleep significantly better than others.

Money, Mobile Phones, and the Miracle Nap
Take charge of your gadgets. Although each new, more multifaceted electronic device that appears in the marketplace promises to make the logistics of our lives a snap, they may actually tie us into too many never-ending webs.

First we have to pay for them. Then we have to master how to use them. Next we have to show them off by contacting our network of business associates and friends. They will, of course, respond in kind. Being able to keep in touch with the kids is a boon to working parents. Allowing the office to track you down after hours is not. We need to keep the two things separate, save discrete times in the day to receive and answer business e-mails, and learn to screen the after 6:00 P.M. cell phone calls. That goes for the whole rest of the evening as well. It also wouldn’t hurt if everyone in the family turned off their devices for a stress-free dinner. And under no circumstances should you check your e-mail right before bed.

Do with less. According to a poll by the American Psychological Association, 4 of the top 10 stressors we experience are related to money — how we get it and how we spend it. Given that, doesn’t it make sense that if we want less and are content with less — smaller houses, fewer gadgets, and simpler forms of transportation — our stress levels will go down?

Perhaps that applies to our career choices as well. Do you really want to work yourself to death to be the woman in charge of the world? Or will just being in charge of a small portion of it make you happy and let you sleep? A recent poll of nearly 2,000 Americans reveals that 22 percent declined a promotion or refused to seek one because they thought the job would be too stressful.”

Keep reading…

Dream Recall - Issue 2

From knowangel:

“Think I was with my daughter (4 yr old) in Winchester(?!) when stood across the busy M3 there was a steep grass embankment supported by a brick-wall. This wall must have been about 4-5 metres high (above the grass) cause I remember paying attention to it. Then a massive blue giant (yep hair, skin & clothes all blue) casually walked the other side of the wall. Intrigued, I grabbed my daughters hand & made it to the other side of the motorway so I could see where it was going.

Next thing I know im floating in the air (on the otherside of wall) into like a half-open dome in the sky! Im alone whilst this happens. Anyway, I continue to float, upright without fear towards a centralised point where an oriental lady who I believed to be the Priestess was sat on a throne. To her left sat a cot/crib & the same to her right. As I came closer I saw that the cots contained a newborn baby in each - they were twins. (boys I felt too)”

Keep reading…. 

Campaigning In Their Sleep

With Obama and Clinton campaigning at a blistering pace, seemingly nonstop state to state, one must wonder where they fit in their shut-eye. Turns out, sometimes they don’t…and sometimes they use that as an excuse for their slips of the lip.

“Research shows that being sleep-deprived can knock down your inhibitions — and take down your good judgment — as effectively as if you were drunk.

So, as Democratic senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continue their protracted battle for the U.S. presidential nomination, they’re also fighting fatigue and their own wayward tongues.

Do voters benefit when carefully rehearsed, ambitious leaders are simply too tired to successfully hide their true feelings?”

Check out the rest of the story from the Ottawa Citizen here: Sleepless On The Campaign Trail.

What do you think? Are you sympathetic of their exhausting schedules or is that no excuse for speaking incorrectly or falsely?

Not Quite Insomnia - Stories

I just stumbled upon this item from The Times Online profiling three successful individuals who get 5 hours of sleep or less a night.  How do they do it?  Read below.  Then pick up some tips on sleeping like a pro here.  How much sleep do you get each night?  If it’s less than 8, are you able to function normally?

HOWARD BENTHAM, 42, is the presenter of BBC Hereford and Worcester’s breakfast radio show. He lives in the Cotswolds with his wife and three children aged 7, 14 and 18. He gets 4 hours’ sleep a night.

I have been presenting breakfast shows for seven years. I was a primary school teacher before doing radio and never got out of the student thing of going to bed at midnight or 1am and getting up at the last possible minute before work.

That had to change virtually overnight. My daughter, Molly, now 7, was born the week I started my first breakfast job. Thankfully, she proved not to be a baby that woke up a lot and my wife, Gail, took care of that side of things.

Now my day runs like clockwork. I’m up at 3.15am. Often I anticipate the alarm and only occasionally am I shocked awake from a deep sleep by it ringing. I have a 30-minute drive to work and am in the studios researching the items to be featured on the programme by 4.30am. My show is on air 6-9am and I often have meetings after that.

I once played sport to a high level, but now find I have little time for exercise other than the odd round of golf and cricket in the summer. Despite the way I live my life, the astounding thing is that I no longer feel as if I’m getting tired.

I still teach three afternoons a week and on those days I have an energy dip between 4.30 and 5.30pm so I frequently have a power nap. Even then, I never shut my eyes for more than 20 minutes and have mastered the art of micro-sleeping where I am unconscious for just 2-3 minutes but wake up feeling completely refreshed.”

Professor Horne says: Successful people who enjoy life and are on top of their jobs tend to sleep less.However, the 4-hour sleep that Howard gets is just about the tolerable limit long term.

MARK PERRY, 39, runs a deli and coffee shop, Delizioso, in Cookham, Berkshire. He lives in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, and has three children aged 14, 12 and 2. He gets between 4 and 4 3/4 hours’ sleep a night.

I worked on the London Underground for eight years, four of those as a driver on a Tube train, and my shifts changed my sleeping patterns for good. Before I did that job I had pretty regular seven to eight-hour nights. Now I often sleep for just four hours and the most I get is five.

At weekends, when I have the chance to lie in a little longer, my body clock won’t allow it. I’m still awake at 5am, no matter what time I go to bed. Whenever I sleep an extra hour or two, which is rare, I feel awful all day. It’s like I have a hangover that I can’t shake off. When I first opened the deli in 2005 I was working extremely long hours - we were open until 9pm - and that did start to affect me. My wife and I also had a baby the following year and he contributed to my tiredness with his night-time waking routine. I tried going to bed earlier, but even then I would wake up, staring at the ceiling, at 2 or 3am, which seemed pointless. Now I work fewer hours and the sleep I get seems to suit me.

The shop now closes at 4.30pm and after that I have to rush around getting the vegetables and other fresh stock for the next day as well as doing the banking and accounts. In the evenings I relax by playing my guitar - I’m in a band and often play with them until midnight before making my way home and crashing into bed. I am also sure yoga helps me to relax - I attend a class twice a week and always come out feeling as if any tensions have lifted.

If I get a tired patch during the day it is usually between 10 and 11am. I drink coffee to keep me going, although I don’t get through anywhere near as much as when I was driving trains, which could be as much as 15 cups a day. I never take naps during the week, but will do occasionally at weekends. They are never longer than 5-10 minutes.

Even if I don’t get round to it because I am rushing around with the kids, it doesn’t make any difference. I set my alarm but am always awake before it is due to go off at 5am.

Professor Horne says: A driven man, Mark should cut back on the coffee he relies on for a perk as it is no substitute for sleep. And he should try to get at least one short nap every day - napping is as good as yoga for revitalising the body and mind, if not better.

KYLE CATHIE, 59, is managing director of the book publishing company Kyle Cathie. She has three grown-up children and lives in London. Kyle gets four hours’ sleep a night.

I am sure I inherited my sleep patterns from my mother. I recall hearing her up at 2 to 3am when I was young and, although my three siblings and three children sleep regularly, I am similar to my mother. I go to bed at midnight and usually wake up at 4am, feeling fine and itching to get going with the day.

I drink lots of coffee, then do the washing or other household chores and check my e-mails. Just before 7am I’ll have a bath, which is my relaxation, and then I head for work at 7.45am.

I eat extremely healthily and get exercise from walking. I have two of my children popping in regularly for meals and a chat. My life is busy. At 2pm every day I hit a tired patch. It just happens and, wham, my energy goes down.

I never sleep at work, but on Fridays and weekends when I’m not in the office I succumb to this tiredness and shut my eyes for 15 minutes. That is usually sufficient. My daughter sometimes sleeps until 1pm because she needs it. I don’t. I have no problem nodding off. I don’t need sleep aids. I sometimes read in the bathroom before going to sleep because it relaxes me a bit. But then I hit the pillow and I am off.”

Professor Horne says: Older people can generally get by with less sleep. Kyle is probably a naturally short sleeper but still needs a nap and I recommend that she does that regularly. But she shouldn’t overdo the caffeine in the morning.

Insomnia Stories - Issue 7

This week’s Insomnia Story comes from The Observer.  The subject is a young girl named Elsa with major sleeping problems.  At only 13 she suffers from chronic insomnia.  Read the excerpt below and find the rest here:

“It’s 7.20am. I’m under the duvet, my eyes in some sort of trance between open and closed. I’m sort of suffocating, actually; there are only so many times you can recycle air while you have a duvet over your head. I know that the minute I pull it back I have given in. It will be my way of saying: ‘Fine. You win. I’ll get up. I’ll accept that I have had a maximum of… no sleep.’ I pull back the duvet. I use all my remaining will to push myself up on my feet. Where I’m going to find some more strength to get me through the day is a mystery.”